Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in respect of binge drinking by young women in light of the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) forthcoming annual assessment.

Mr Tom McCabe: Reducing binge drinking is one of the key priorities of the Scottish Executive's Plan for Action on alcohol problems , which was launched in January 2002. The plan seeks to achieve a cultural shift in harmful drinking patterns such as those highlighted in the CMO's annual report for 2002.

  Action under the plan includes the launch, in April 2002, of a £1.5 million campaign featuring television, radio and billboards - with a major focus on binge drinking. The campaign is currently being reviewed following completion of its first phase and future work will take account of the need to focus more specifically on the particular risks faced by young women.

  Another important development was the launch on 10 June of the Executive-funded Gender Issues Network on Alcohol (GINA). In the first instance, GINA will focus primarily on women's issues, providing a vehicle for the development and dissemination of good practice in working with women, including gender-sensitive approaches to prevention.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many anti-social behaviour orders have been issued in each local authority area.

Ms Margaret Curran: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-492 on 11 June 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Asylum Seekers

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in view of its commitment in A Partnership for a Better Scotland to encourage the integration of refugees into local communities, it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government that the children of asylum seekers held at Dungavel House immigration removal centre should be allowed to attend local schools.

Ms Margaret Curran: Immigration and asylum issues, including the educational provision for children at Dungavel, are reserved matters.

Care of Elderly People

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next meet care home operators and what issues will be discussed.

Mr Tom McCabe: Scottish Executive officials will attend the meeting between the COSLA and independent care home operators on 29 July. This will be the second in a series of meetings to consider a mutually acceptable framework for assessing the cost of providing care in homes for older people from 2005-06.

Care of Elderly People

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next meet COSLA to discuss the delivery of free personal care for elderly people and each local authority's operation of eligibility procedures.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Minister for Health and Community Care established the Free Personal Care Joint Implementation Group. Through this group, the Scottish Executive is working with officials from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Association of Directors of Social Work. The group provides a forum for working constructively with local authority partners to resolve any local concerns with the implementation of free personal and nursing care. A further meeting of representatives of the group is due within the next few weeks although no date has yet been set.

Care of Elderly People

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure uniformity of approach by each local authority in respect of access to free personal care for elderly people.

Mr Tom McCabe: Provisions of the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002, together with regulations made by Scottish ministers, provide the legislative basis for the delivery of free personal and nursing care. Guidance Circulars CCD4/2002 and CCD5/2002 were issued in respect of the implementation of free personal and nursing care on 9 May and 30 May respectively and there are plans to consolidate these circulars this year. The Scottish Executive and local authorities worked together to develop the guidance to ensure there was fair and consistent implementation across Scotland. Monitoring arrangements have been established to ensure this is achieved.

Care of Elderly People

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it will give to each local authority in the current financial year and each of the next three financial years for free personal care for elderly people and how many elderly people this will cover in each local authority area.

Mr Tom McCabe: The following table shows the allocation made to each local authority for 2003-04. Resources of £147 million and £153 million in total for 2004-05 and 2005-06 respectively were included in the recent Local Government Settlement. Funding for 2006-07 will be considered in the next spending review. The resources allocated should be sufficient to ensure that those eligible to apply for and assessed as needing personal care will receive it free of charge.

  


 


Starting 1st April 2003
(£000) 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

5,669 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

6,684 
  



Angus 
  

4,667 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

3,547 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

871 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

5,037 
  



Dundee City 
  

3,997 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

3,548 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

3,060 
  



East Lothian 
  

2,500 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

2,990 
  



Edinburgh City 
  

16,310 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

589 
  



Falkirk 
  

2,921 
  



Fife 
  

10,067 
  



Glasgow City 
  

14,019 
  



Highland 
  

5,513 
  



Inverclyde 
  

2,577 
  



Midlothian 
  

1,785 
  



Moray 
  

2,516 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

4,327 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

5,617 
  



Orkney 
  

340 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

6,098 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

4,126 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

3,552 
  



Shetland 
  

325 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

4,329 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

7,936 
  



Stirling 
  

2,926 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

2,101 
  



West Lothian 
  

2,455 
  



Total 
  

143,000

Central Heating Programme

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review its Central Heating Installation Programme

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The programme is kept under review to ensure that it continues to deliver benefits to elderly people and address fuel poverty. In September 2002, the Scottish Executive announced that the programme would be extended from April 2004 to offer 4,000 very elderly households with partial or poorly functioning central heating either an upgrade or a new system as appropriate and regulations to allow this will be introduced later this year.

Dentistry

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients are on a waiting list to register with an NHS dentist in the Banff and Buchan area.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is not held centrally. Individual general dental practitioners, who are independent contractors, may hold lists of patients wishing to be treated in their practice.

Dentistry

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is to register with an NHS dentist in the Banff and Buchan area.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-247 by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 June 2003, whether it will place copies of the responses it has received to Towards Better Oral Health in Children , other than those submitted on a confidential basis, in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre and whether it will publish an analysis of the responses showing how many (a) support and (b) oppose adding fluoride to the water supply.

Malcolm Chisholm: Copies of the responses have been publicly available in the normal manner at the Scottish Executive library since early March.

  An independent researcher has been appointed to collate and analyse all responses to the consultation. The report will be available later in the summer.

Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how parents can access reports by HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE).

Peter Peacock: Upon publication, all parents and guardians are issued with copies of inspection reports on schools which their children attend. In addition, parents can access copies of any published report via the HMIE website. Copies can also be requested by contacting any HMIE office.

Enterprise

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-34524 by Iain Gray on 19 March 2003, how many business start-ups there were in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) 2002-03 in the Scottish Borders Council area and what percentage of such start-ups in each year for which such figures are available were still in business after (i) one year, (ii) two years and (iii) three years.

Mr Jim Wallace: The following table shows business starts measured by VAT registrations in the Scottish Borders Council area for 1999, 2000 and 2001. Figures for 2002 will not be available until October 2003.

  


VAT Registrations 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

325 
  

280 
  

265 
  



  Source: Small Business Service at http://www.sbs.gov.uk/content/statistics/vat9401.xls.

  Data on the proportion of start-ups still in business after one, two and three years is not available by local authority area.

Enterprise

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive ,further to the answer to question S1W-34524 by Iain Gray on 19 March 2003, how many business start-ups there were in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) 2002-03 in the East Lothian Council area and what percentage of such start-ups in each year for which such figures are available were still in business after (i) one year, (ii) two years and (iii) three years.

Mr Jim Wallace: The following table shows business starts measured by VAT registrations in the East Lothian council area for 1999, 2000 and 2001. Figures for 2002 will not be available until October 2003.

  


VAT Registrations 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



East Lothian 
  

180 
  

185 
  

185 
  



  Source: Small Business Service at http://www.sbs.gov.uk/content/statistics/vat9401.xls.

  Data on the proportion of start-ups still in business after one, two and three years is not available by local authority.

Fisheries

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of its ministers attended the meeting in Brussels on 28 May 2003 about the distribution of transitional aid to fishing communities; whether there will be an early release of such funds to fishing communities, and what timescale for this is being considered by it, Her Majesty’s Government and the European Commission.

Ross Finnie: No official EU meeting took place on 28 May which it would have been appropriate for me to attend.

Fisheries

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received about plans by Lakeland Marine Farms Ltd to establish three cod farms off the north coast of the Isle of Arran and when it first received any such information.

Allan Wilson: The Executive first became aware of these proposals when invited by the Crown Estate, in December 2002, to comment as part of a screening and scoping exercise under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Fish Farming in Marine Waters) Regulations 1999.

Fisheries

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why there has been no public consultation in respect of Lakeland Marine Farms Ltd's application for three cod farms off the north coast of the Isle of Arran, given that the application was made two years ago, and whether it is normal and acceptable for this to be the case.

Allan Wilson: Developers are encouraged to share their plans with interested parties at all stages in the process. The cases in question are only at the pre-application stage where the applicant seeks the views of the relevant statutory consultees about the issues that are likely to arise and the need for and scope of an Environmental Impact Assessment.

  It is only after formal application has been made that proposals must be published for consultation.

Fisheries

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been any involvement in the last two years of (a) Scottish Natural Heritage, (b) the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and (c) North Ayrshire Council in relation to plans by Lakeland Marine Farms Ltd to establish three cod farms off the north coast of the Isle of Arran and when it was informed of any such involvement.

Allan Wilson: All three organisations are statutory consultees under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Fish Farming in Marine Waters) Regulations and were invited to comment on the proposals during the screening and scoping exercise initiated by the Crown Estate in December 2002.

Fisheries

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the impact on the tourism economy on the Isle of Arran would be of the creation of an industrial fish-farming development comprising 10 cages of nets with a circumference of 100 m and a depth of 15 m.

Allan Wilson: Local authorities, in this case North Ayrshire Council, have regard to the possible impact of fish farm proposals on tourism within their area when framing their recommendation as to whether development consent should be granted. Scottish Natural Heritage plays a complementary role by taking into account the proximity and potential impact of proposed developments on wildlife, habitats and landscape issues.

Fisheries

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received information about any estimates that, in order to produce 2,000 tonnes of farmed cod, 8,000 tonnes of wild fish would be required as food and what assessment it has made of the consequent impact of dumping 6,000 tonnes of excrement on the seabed off the north coast of the Isle of Arran, with particular regard to the proposals of Lakeland Marine Farms Ltd.

Allan Wilson: The type of food, the feeding plans, including estimated feed conversion rates, are contained within the environmental data submitted in support of the proposals. Discharges are a matter for Scottish Environment Protection Agency to assess.

Fisheries

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether residents of the Isle of Arran should be consulted before any extension is made to the existing fish farm in Lamlash Bay and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Allan Wilson: Following submission of an application, details would be advertised in the local press and interested parties may thereafter submit comments to the local authority.

Health

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have died in each of the last five years as a result of (a) tobacco consumption, (b) obesity, (c) alcohol misuse and (d) misuse of illegal drugs.

Malcolm Chisholm: It is not possible to give precise figures on deaths resulting from tobacco use. However, it is estimated that each year more than 13,000 people in Scotland die from smoking-related diseases, including lung cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke.

  Specific morbidity data related to obesity in Scotland is not held centrally. Obesity is a known risk factor in the development of a range of chronic diseases including coronary heart disease, some types of cancer, stroke and hypertension but is not recorded as the cause of death.

  There is no definitive methodology for counting alcohol-related deaths. Figures published by GROS (see footnote) are as follows:

  


1997 
  

851 
  



1998 
  

912 
  



1999 
  

1,013 
  



2000 
  

1,129 
  



2,001 
  

1,219 
  



  These figures are based on a narrow selection of the underlying causes of death and may under-estimate the total number of alcohol-related deaths in Scotland. Final data for 2002 is not yet available.

  The number of drug-related deaths as recorded by GROS are as follows:

  


1997 
  

224 
  



1998 
  

249 
  



1999 
  

291 
  



2000 
  

292 
  



2,001 
  

332 
  



  Data for 2002 will not be available until autumn 2003.

  Footnote

  The figures quoted for alcohol-related deaths are based on the following narrow selection of underlying causes of death (the relevant codes of the 9th and 10th Revisions of the International Classification of Diseases are given in the brackets).

  1997-1999: ICD9

  1. Alcoholic psychoses (291);

  2. Alcoholic dependence syndrome (303);

  3. Non-dependent abuse of alcohol (305.0);

  4. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (425.5), and

  5. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis with a mention of alcohol (571.0-571.3).

  2000-2002: ICD10

  1. Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10.0-F10.9);

  2. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (I42.6), and

  3. Alcoholic liver disease (K70.0-K70.9).

Health

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been admitted to hospital in each of the last five years as a result of (a) tobacco consumption, (b) obesity, (c) alcohol misuse and (d) misuse of illegal drugs.

Malcolm Chisholm: The available information is shown in the following table. Tobacco consumption is not usually explicitly recorded on hospital discharge records, although it is recognised that a considerable number of diseases are precipitated by tobacco use.

  Scottish Hospital1,2 Discharge Records with an Explicit Diagnosis of Alcohol-Related Conditions, Drug Misuse or Obesity; 1997-98 to 2001-02

  


Discharge Period 
  

Diagnosis3




Alcohol-Related Conditions 
  

Drug Misuse 
  

Obesity 
  



1997-98 
  

41,671 
  

4,747 
  

3,884 
  



1998-99 
  

42,380 
  

5,659 
  

4,003 
  



1999-00 
  

45,308 
  

6,150 
  

4,115 
  



2000-01 
  

44,685 
  

6,557 
  

4,288 
  



2001-02P


46,556 
  

6,516 
  

4,444 
  



  Source: ISD Scotland, SMR01 & SMR04

  Notes:

  PProvisional

  1. Includes acute hospitals, mental illness hospitals and psychiatric units (excludes maternity hospitals).

  2. Information on hospital discharges relates to episodes of in-patient or day case care rather than individual patients. The same patient may account for several hospital admissions during the course of a year (or across years) and will be counted each time in the table. Transfer cases have been included.

  3. Diagnostic information is defined by using the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10).

  Alcohol-related conditions: F10, R780, Y90, Y91, Z637, Z811, Z864, Z714, Z502, T506, Y573, T510, T59, X45, X65, Y15, O354, Q860, P043, Z721, Z133, G621, G721, K860, I426, K70, K292, G312, E52. Drug Misuse: F11, F12, F13, F14, F15, F16, F18, F19. Obesity: E66.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to include target outcomes for mental health provision and services to enable performance measurement.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are a number of mechanisms already in place to monitor outcomes and performance of mental health services. These include the visits and reports of the Mental Health and Well Being Support Group, the Social Work Services Inspectorate, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland and others.

  There are also monitoring and evaluation approaches in place for specific aspects of mental health services. For example, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland will be conducting a review of compliance with their published standards for schizophrenia care, to be followed in 2004 with a report on the implementation of the second tranche of these standards. It is also supporting a three-year national study, commenced 2002, to monitor the outcomes of care for service users with schizophrenia. And it is funding a two-year programme to identify and report on best practice in post-natal depression.

  The assessment of mental health services which I commissioned earlier this year, and which will report in the autumn, will provide valuable insight into the scope and effectiveness of current performance monitoring systems.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital beds were available for dermatological problems in (a) Scotland as a whole and (b) each NHS board area in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is as follows:

  NHSScotland: Average Available Staffed Beds1 in the Specialty of Dermatology, by NHS Board Area of Residence: Years Ended 31 March 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003P.

  


NHS Board 
  

Year Ended
31 March 1999 
  

Year Ended
31 March 2000 
  

Year Ended
31 March 2001 
  

Year Ended
31 March 2002 
  

Year Ended
31 March 2003P




Argyll and Clyde 
  

15 
  

12 
  

12 
  

12 
  

12 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

15 
  

15 
  

15 
  

15 
  

15 
  



Borders 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Fife 
  

7 
  

6 
  

6 
  

5 
  

5 
  



Forth Valley 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Grampian 
  

19 
  

16 
  

14 
  

13 
  

10 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

36 
  

36 
  

34 
  

31 
  

28 
  



Highland 
  

8 
  

9 
  

8 
  

8 
  

8 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

26 
  

26 
  

15 
  

15 
  

15 
  



Lothian 
  

15 
  

13 
  

7 
  

8 
  

8 
  



Orkney 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Shetland 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Tayside 
  

18 
  

18 
  

14 
  

13 
  

13 
  



Western Isles 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Scotland 
  

161 
  

153 
  

127 
  

123 
  

116 
  



  Source: ISD Form ISD(S)1.

  Notes:

  PProvisional

  1. Average daily number of beds which were staffed and were available for the reception of in-patient and day cases. Borrowed and temporary beds are included. Beds in day bed units are excluded

Housing

Mr Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding agreed for affordable house building in the Highlands and Islands will keep pace with inflation.

Ms Margaret Curran: I have asked Mr Bob Millar, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

  Inflation is not a factor in the allocation of resources. The allocation of housing investment to a specific geographic area is based on an assessment of social exclusion and of the supply and demand for housing. This in turn is informed by an assessment of the capacity of house developers, such as Registered Social Landlords, to take up investment, which may be made available.

  Investment for affordable house building in the Highlands and Islands by Communities Scotland has increased year-on-year, in excess of inflation, rising from £8.541 million in 1998-99 to an anticipated investment of £16.355 million in 2003-04.

Income

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the average weekly household income in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Ms Margaret Curran: Information on average weekly household income in Scotland is available at national level only. The following table shows median household income in Scotland as a whole in each year since 1996-97.

  The data sources which the Executive uses for household income analysis are the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and the Households Below Average Income Analysis, which is derived from the FRS. The sample sizes are not large enough to allow analysis below the all-Scotland level.

  Weekly Net Household Income in Scotland

  

 

Median (£) 
  



1996-97 
  

228 
  



1997-98 
  

236 
  



1998-99 
  

238 
  



1999-2000 
  

250 
  



2000-01 
  

250 
  



2001-02 
  

272 
  



  Notes:

  1. All amounts are in 2001-02 prices.

  2. Income is after housing costs and is equivalised to take account of the size and composition of the household.

  3. Year-on-year changes should be interpreted with caution, since the data is derived from a sample survey and the figures are subject to sampling variability.

Income

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to increase the level of average gross weekly earnings in the Scottish Borders Council area from £346.20, as referred to in Scottish Economic Statistics 2003 , to the national average

Mr Jim Wallace: Scottish Enterprise is charged with pursing the strategic priorities for economic development contained in A Smart, Successful Scotland . These priorities include improving productivity and competitiveness to enhance the long-term growth rate of the economy of the Scottish Borders, to generate greater prosperity and employment and reduce poverty.

Income

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to increase the level of average gross weekly earnings in the East Lothian Council area from £399.60, as referred to in Scottish Economic Statistics 2003 , to the national average.

Mr Jim Wallace: Scottish Enterprise is charged with pursing the strategic priorities for economic development contained in A Smart, Successful Scotland . These priorities include improving productivity and competitiveness to enhance the long-term growth rate of the economy of East Lothian, to generate greater prosperity and employment and reduce poverty.

Junior Doctors

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to ensure that sufficient staff are recruited to enable compliance with the 56-hour week rule for junior doctors.

Malcolm Chisholm: The move to full, and sustainable, compliance requires more imaginative solutions than are been applied at present and a greater degree of urgency. The answer involves staff working in teams and thinking more creatively about new roles and responsibilities as part of the wider reform agenda.

  Nonetheless, some additional capacity will be required. As part of Workforce Planning for Doctors, there has been a commitment to recruit an additional 375 more junior doctors by 2004. The Partnership for a Better Scotland: Partnership Agreement, May 2003, identifies a target of 600 extra consultants to be recruited across NHSScotland by 2006 and increases in other staffing groups.

Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider introducing subordinate legislation under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 to deter open fires in the countryside in light of recent hill and forest fires in the Highlands and, in particular, in the Ardnamurchan area

Ross Finnie: We do not consider that there is a need for further legislation to deter open fires in the countryside. The emphasis of Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 is that a person has access rights only if they are exercised responsibly. Section 2 of the act provides that in determining whether access rights are being exercised responsibly a person is to be presumed to be exercising access rights responsibly if they are exercised so as not to cause unreasonable interference with any of the rights, (whether access rights, rights associated with the ownership of land or any other) of any person.

  In determining whether a person is deemed not to be exercising access rights responsibly, regard is to be had to whether that person has disregarded the guidance on responsible conduct set out in the Access Code to be drawn up by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and incumbent on persons exercising access rights. The Access Code will address the issue of open fires. SNH are currently consulting on a draft code and the consultation closes on 30 June.

  Further to this, under section 12 of the act local authorities may, in relation to land in respect of which access rights are exercisable, make byelaws. These byelaw making powers will be able to address such issues as the lighting of open fires in the countryside.

Licensing

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Nicholson Committee's report on licensing laws will be published.

Hugh Henry: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-193 on 3 June 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Local Government

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the consequences are of a local authority not electing a convener within the legally specified period.

Tavish Scott: The election of the convenor of the authority is a matter for individual local councils.

Marine Environment

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether fish farmers are permitted to use the chemical formalin and, if so, how many discharge consents have been issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in relation to (a) salmon, (b) trout and (c) cod farms.

Ross Finnie: Formalin is permitted subject to consent for its subsequent discharge to the water environment. In the past five years, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued approximately 360 consents for salmon or trout farms in fresh water and one for a cod farm.

Maternity Services

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women in age groups 16 years and over were admitted to the maternity unit in each hospital in the (a) Ayrshire and Arran, (b) Argyll and Clyde, (c) Dumfries and Galloway, (d) Lanarkshire and (e) Greater Glasgow NHS board area in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by postcode sector in deprivation categories 5 to 7; what this figure is per thousand women in each age group; how many bed days were occupied as a result, and what the average stay was in each hospital.

Malcolm Chisholm: Due to the size of the tables used to answer this question, copies have been placed in the Parliaments Reference Centre (Bib. number 27791).

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under six in each NHS board area have been diagnosed with a mental illness in each of the last five years broken down by (a) type of illness and (b) age.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Table 1 shows the estimated number of children, five years and under for whom a diagnosis of a mental illness has been recorded by a general practitioner participating in the Continuous Morbidity Recording in General Practice (CMR) scheme. The table also shows CMR prevalence rate per 1,000 population and estimated number of patients for Scotland for 2001.

  Table 2 gives a list of the Read Codes used to define mental illness in the analysis.

  Since CMR data is collected on a sample of the population balanced on an all-Scotland level, it is not possible to make comparisons among NHS board areas.

  Table 1

  Number of CMR Patients (Five Years and Under) Consulting a GP as a Result of a Mental Illness1, CMR Prevalence Rate Per 1,000 Population and Estimated Number of Patients for Scotland for 2001

  


Mental Illness Condition 
  

Number of Patients 
  

Practices' Combined Population2
(0-5 years) 
  

Prevalence Rate 
  

Scottish Population3
(0-5 years) 
  

Estimated Number of Patients for Scotland 
  



Mood (Affective) Disorders 
  

9 
  

23,935 
  

0.4 
  

334,349 
  

126 
  



Depressive Episodes 
  

6 
  

23,935 
  

0.3 
  

334,349 
  

84 
  



Disorders of Childhood 
  

111 
  

23,935 
  

4.6 
  

334,349 
  

1,551 
  



Neurotic, Stress-Related and Somatoform Disorders 
  

35 
  

23,935 
  

1.5 
  

334,349 
  

489 
  



  Notes:

  1. Source: Continuous Morbidity Recording (CMR), ISD Scotland. Based on 60 practices, population 370,605, January 2001 to December 2001.

  2. Source: General Medical Practitioner database, ISD Scotland (as at 1 October 2001).

  3. Source: General Register's Office (Scotland), mid year population estimates for 2001.

  Table 2

  Read Codes Used for the Analysis of Mental Illness   Read Code   Description Mood (Affective) Disorders   1B17.   Depressed 1B19.   Suicidal 2257.   O/E - depressed E11*   Affective psychoses E2B*   Depressive disorder NEC Eu3*   [X]Mood - affective disorders Depressive Episodes   1B17.   Depressed 1B19.   Suicidal 2257.   O/E - depressed E112*   Single major depressive episode E2B*   Depressive disorder NEC Eu32*   [X]Depressive episode Disorders of Childhood   E14*   Psychoses-origin in childhood E2D*   Child/adolescent emotion problem E2E*   Childhood hyperkinetic syndrome E2F*   Specific delays in development Eu8*   [X]Disorders of psychological development Eu90*   [X]Hyperkinetic disorders Eu93*   [X]Emotional disorders with onset specific to childhood Eu94*   [X]Disorders of social functioning with onset specific childhood and adolescence Eu9y*   [X]Other behavioural and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence ZV400   [V]Problems with learning ZV401   [V]Problems with communication, including speech Neurotic, Stress-Related and Somatoform Disorders   E20*   Neurotic disorders E26*   Psychogenic physiol. symptoms E28*   Acute reaction to stress E29*   Adjustment reaction Eu4*   [X]Neurotic, stress - related and somoform disorders ZV402   [V]Other mental problems

  Note:

  *Read codes beginning with these characters.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the total mental health budget has been allocated to services relating to child mental illness and how much has been spent in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are in place to promote mental well-being of children and young people.

Mr Tom McCabe: "Early years" was identified as one of the four major areas for a focussed approach to health improvement within Improving Health in Scotland – The Challenge . The Starting Well Health Improvement demonstration project will promote and encourage mental health and well-being among young children. Evidence suggests that the best way to make a difference for children is to reach them in their early years. Accordingly we have made a significant commitment to our early intervention approaches such as Sure Start Scotland which involves local authorities and targets support at vulnerable and deprived families with very young children.

  Revised guidance on Children’s Services Plans was issued in October 2001, making clear that the plans should set out how the local authority is providing services for all children but also how they are targeting services covering all children in need in their area. More specifically, the Changing Children’s Services Fund, which aims to allow major re-configuration of services for children, has the provision of mental health services for children as one of its key priorities. Work resourced through the fund will impact directly on mental health services but, more generally, better integrated services which respond promptly and effectively to children in distress or in trouble are key to dealing with the complex problems that may eventually lead to mental health problems.

  One of the five key priority areas in the National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-being in Scotland is "early years and young adulthood". Children, especially looked-after children, are one of the priority groups within Choose Life: A National Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in Scotland which was published in December 2002.

  The need for concerted efforts in relation to health promotion and the prevention of mental health problems was one of the conclusions in the report of the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme (SNAP) review of child and adolescent mental health, published in March 2003. The Child Health Support Group will work closely with NHS boards and their partners to ensure effective implementation of the report's recommendations; a stakeholder working group has been established to take this forward.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are in place to assist people with a mental illness to obtain employment or training opportunities.

Mr Tom McCabe: Work in this area includes initiatives to encourage employers to employ and retain people with mental health problems; development, by NHS Health Scotland, of its Work Positive initiative (a package for businesses to prevent mental health difficulties in their workforces), and several projects to help tackle stress and mental health problems in the NHS. The Health Improvement Challenge, launched in March 2003, and the National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing, also provide the opportunity to focus on mental health and employment and to challenge the stigma in relation to mental health problems which can be encountered in the workplace.

  The Training for Work programme offers work-related training opportunities to unemployed adults in Scotland. People with disabilities, including mental health problems, may enter the programme without having to wait the standard qualifying time on benefits.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to fund research into non-pharmacological treatments for mental illness.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Executive Health Department has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland.

  The CSO has in the past funded studies on non-pharmacological interventions including cognitive behavioural therapy and community nurse empowerment. At the current time, the CSO is funding the SALT (Scottish Adherence to Lithium) trial, which is looking at the effectiveness of a brief cognitive intervention to improve adherence to lithium in bipolar affective disorder - combining pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.

  The CSO is primarily a response mode funder and would be pleased to consider further proposals for research into non-pharmacological treatments for mental illness. All research proposals are subject to peer and committee review and are assessed in terms of their potential for health gain.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is available to medical staff in the use of electro-convulsive treatment.

Malcolm Chisholm: Guidelines which issued this year to NHSScotland from NHS Quality Improvement Scotland recommended that electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) be used only to achieve rapid and short-term improvement of severe symptoms after other treatment options have proven ineffective and/or the condition is considered to be potentially life-threatening, in individuals with severe depressive illness, catatonia or a prolonged or severe manic episode.

  The guidance instructed on the need for documented assessment of the risks and potential benefits to the individual and the risks of not having the treatment. The enhanced risks occurring during pregnancy, in older people, and in children and young people were highlighted alongside the important issue of unhindered, valid and informed consent on the part of the individual including the involvement, where appropriate, of patient advocates and/or carers.

  The guidance covered issues of on-going review of the treatment and effects and, given the longer-term benefits and risks of ECT have not yet been clearly established, the guidance recommended against the procedure as a maintenance therapy in depressive illness.

  NHSScotland are expected to apply this guidance in all respects.

  Arrangements in Scotland have also been subject to extensive audit by the Scottish ECT Audit Network, supported by the Scottish Executive, which showed practice to be of a high quality, closely adherent to standards and providing good therapeutic outcomes.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out in the last 10 years into the use of electro-convulsive treatment and when such research was carried out and by whom.

Malcolm Chisholm: The National Research Register (NRR), a UK-wide database of all publicly funded research of relevance to the NHS, records that there are currently two projects on-going in the UK on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), both of which are being carried out in England. The NRR also lists 18 completed projects on ECT, one of which was carried out at Tayside Primary Care NHS Trust and was completed in February 1999.

  Details of these projects are available from the NRR, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 17404).

NHS Staff

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff in the Highland NHS Board area have reported an assault in (a) 2000-01 and (b) 2001-02; whether information held on this matter now includes the number of cases (i) reported to the procurator fiscal, (ii) raised as criminal prosecutions and (iii) resulting in a conviction, and, if it does not, whether there are any plans to include such information.

Malcolm Chisholm: The first national collection of data from NHS boards and trusts on violent and aggressive incidents took place in 2001 for the financial year 2000-01. Collection of data for 2001-02 has also taken place. Quality assurance procedures to validate the data are under way.

  This data was collected as part of the Occupational Health and Safety Minimum Dataset, and it is planned to publish a minimum dataset report on the data collected between 2000-02 this year. The data published will show violence and aggression as a component of the occupational injury rate.

  Information on the reporting of violent incidents to the procurator fiscal, the number of criminal prosecutions, and number of convictions in NHS board areas is not held centrally. Though there are currently no plans to include this information in the minimum dataset requirements, the information gathered in the Minimum Dataset is reviewed annually. The board in question may however hold this information locally.

NHS Staff

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many whole-time equivalent dermatologists are employed by each NHS board and how many there were employed in each of the last five years.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information on whole-time equivalent dermatologists employed by boards in 1998 to 2002 is provided in the following tables 1 to 5 respectively.

  Table 1

  Dermatologists Directly Employed by NHSScotland by NHS Board1 Whole-Time Equivalent at 30 September 1998

  

 

All Grades 
  

Consultants 
  

Non-Consultant Career Grades2


Training Grades3


Other4




Scotland 
  

90.7 
  

40.8 
  

8.0 
  

35.6 
  

6.4 
  



Argyll and Clyde 
  

8.0 
  

3.0 
  

2.0 
  

2.0 
  

1.0 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

4.9 
  

3.0 
  

- 
  

1.0 
  

0.9 
  



Borders 
  

0.4 
  

0.4 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

1.1 
  

1.0 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.1 
  



Fife 
  

2.9 
  

1.7 
  

0.4 
  

- 
  

0.8 
  



Forth Valley 
  

1.9 
  

1.6 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.3 
  



Grampian 
  

5.1 
  

3.0 
  

- 
  

2.0 
  

0.1 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

28.3 
  

10.5 
  

- 
  

15.6 
  

2.2 
  



Highland 
  

3.9 
  

2.0 
  

0.7 
  

1.0 
  

0.2 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

10.8 
  

4.9 
  

2.1 
  

3.2 
  

0.6 
  



Lothian 
  

13.6 
  

5.5 
  

2.7 
  

5.2 
  

0.2 
  



Orkney 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Shetland 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Tayside 
  

9.8 
  

4.1 
  

- 
  

5.6 
  

0.1 
  



Western Isles 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



  Table 2

  Dermatologists Directly Employed by NHSScotland by NHS Board1 Whole-Time Equivalent at 30 September 1999

  

 

All Grades 
  

Consultants 
  

Non-Consultant Career Grades2


Training Grades3


Other4




Scotland 
  

89.7 
  

44.7 
  

6.8 
  

32.2 
  

6.0 
  



Argyll and Clyde 
  

8.0 
  

2.0 
  

1.0 
  

4.0 
  

1.0 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

5.0 
  

3.0 
  

- 
  

1.0 
  

1.0 
  



Borders 
  

0.4 
  

0.4 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

1.1 
  

1.0 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.1 
  



Fife 
  

2.8 
  

1.5 
  

0.4 
  

- 
  

0.9 
  



Forth Valley 
  

2.4 
  

2.0 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.4 
  



Grampian 
  

4.7 
  

3.6 
  

 


1.0 
  

0.1 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

25.0 
  

11.3 
  

- 
  

12.0 
  

1.8 
  



Highland 
  

3.8 
  

2.0 
  

0.7 
  

1.0 
  

- 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

11.5 
  

4.8 
  

2.2 
  

4.0 
  

0.5 
  



Lothian 
  

13.7 
  

6.4 
  

2.5 
  

4.6 
  

0.2 
  



Orkney 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Shetland 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Tayside 
  

11.4 
  

6.7 
  

- 
  

4.6 
  

0.1 
  



Western Isles 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



  Table 3

  Dermatologists Directly Employed by NHSScotland by NHS Board1 Whole-Time Equivalent at 30 September 2000

  

 

All Grades 
  

Consultants 
  

Non-Consultant Career Grades2


Training Grades3


Other4




Scotland 
  

95.2 
  

43.8 
  

6.8 
  

39.1 
  

5.5 
  



Argyll and Clyde 
  

6.4 
  

2.0 
  

1.0 
  

3.0 
  

0.4 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

4.9 
  

3.0 
  

- 
  

1.0 
  

0.9 
  



Borders 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

1.2 
  

1.0 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.2 
  



Fife 
  

3.8 
  

1.6 
  

0.4 
  

1.0 
  

0.8 
  



Forth Valley 
  

2.5 
  

2.0 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.5 
  



Grampian 
  

9.4 
  

3.6 
  

- 
  

5.7 
  

0.1 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

25.6 
  

10.6 
  

- 
  

13.6 
  

1.4 
  



Highland 
  

2.9 
  

2.0 
  

0.7 
  

- 
  

0.2 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

10.5 
  

4.8 
  

2.2 
  

3.0 
  

0.5 
  



Lothian 
  

13.9 
  

6.4 
  

2.5 
  

4.6 
  

0.4 
  



Orkney 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Shetland 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Tayside 
  

14.0 
  

6.7 
  

- 
  

7.2 
  

0.1 
  



Western Isles 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



  Table 4

  Dermatologists Directly Employed by NHSScotland by NHS Board1 Whole-Time Equivalent at 30 September 2001

All Grades   Consultants   Non-Consultant Career Grades2   Training Grades3   Other4 Scotland   90.6   46.1   5.5   32.4   6.5 Argyll and Clyde   6.3   3.0   1.0   2.0   0.3 Ayrshire and Arran   5.0   3.0   -   1.0   1.0 Borders   0.2   -   -   -   0.2 Dumfries and Galloway   1.0   1.0   -   -   - Fife   3.5   2.6   -   -   0.9 Forth Valley   2.5   2.0   -   -   0.5 Grampian   5.7   3.6   -   2.0   0.1 Greater Glasgow   26.9   10.6   -   13.6   2.6 Highland   2.8   2.0   0.5   -   0.2 Lanarkshire   9.5   4.8   1.5   3.0   0.2 Lothian   14.1   6.6   2.5   4.6   0.4 Orkney   -   -   -   -   - Shetland   -   -   -   -   - Tayside   13.1   6.7   -   6.2   0.2 Western Isles   -   -   -   -   -

  Table 5

  Dermatologists Directly Employed by NHSScotland by NHS Board1 Whole-Time Equivalent at 30 September 2002P

All Grades   Consultants   Non-Consultant Career Grades2   Training Grades3   Other4 Scotland   93.5   45.8   7.0   34.0   6.6 Argyll and Clyde   5.4   3.0   1.0   1.0   0.4 Ayrshire and Arran   5.0   3.0   -   1.0   1.0 Borders   0.2   -   -   -   0.2 Dumfries and Galloway   1.0   1.0   -   -   - Fife   3.5   2.6   -   -   0.9 Forth Valley   2.5   2.0   -   -   0.5 Grampian   7.7   3.6   -   4.0   0.1 Greater Glasgow   25.2   10.5   -   12.6   2.2 Highland   2.5   2.0   0.5   -   - Lanarkshire   9.5   4.8   2.5   2.0   0.3 Lothian   16.1   6.6   2.6   6.6   0.4 Orkney   -   -   -   -   - Shetland   -   -   -   -   - Tayside   14.6   6.6   0.5   6.8   0.7 Western Isles   -   -   -   -   -

   Notes:

  PData for 2002 are provisional.

  1. Includes honorary appointments.

  2. Comprises Associate Specialists and Staff grades.

  3. Comprises Specialist Registrar, Registrar, Senior House Officer and House Officer grades.

  4. Comprises Hospital Practitioner and GMP (para 94 appointment) grades.

NHS Waiting Times

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is for orthopaedic surgery in each NHS board area and how this compares with waiting times in the previous year.

Malcolm Chisholm: The median waiting times for orthopaedic surgery, by NHS board area of residence, for the years ended 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 are given in the following table.

  The increase in the Scotland median wait reflects our focus on reducing the number of patients waiting longest for treatment. On 31 March 2003, the number of patients with a guarantee waiting more than nine months for orthopaedic surgery was 275, compared with 1,282 on 31 March 2002.

  


NHS Board 
  

Year Ended
31 March 2002 
  

Year Ended
31 March 2003P




Argyll and Clyde 
  

112 
  

118 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

79 
  

78 
  



Borders 
  

73 
  

80 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

69 
  

92 
  



Fife 
  

105 
  

132 
  



Forth Valley 
  

121 
  

143 
  



Grampian 
  

50 
  

59 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

81 
  

93 
  



Highland 
  

72 
  

92 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

90 
  

93 
  



Lothian 
  

96 
  

138 
  



Orkney 
  

47 
  

61 
  



Shetland 
  

69 
  

115 
  



Tayside 
  

76 
  

91 
  



Western Isles 
  

44 
  

30 
  



Scotland 
  

80 
  

94 
  



  Source: ISD Scotland, SMR01.

  PProvisional.

NHS Waiting Times

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the median waiting time has been for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant dermatologist in (a) Scotland as a whole and (b) each NHS board in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is as follows:

  NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for a First Out-patient Appointment with a Consultant in Dermatology, Following a General Medical Practitioner Referral, by NHS Board of Residence: Years Ended 31 March 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003P.

  Year Ended 31 March

  


NHS Board 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  

2002 
  

2003P




Days 
  



Argyll and Clyde 
  

74 
  

56 
  

63 
  

56 
  

60 
  

63 
  

54 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

41 
  

43 
  

43 
  

56 
  

77 
  

103 
  

92 
  



Borders 
  

52 
  

46 
  

57 
  

56 
  

64 
  

70 
  

90 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

39 
  

35 
  

42 
  

28 
  

25 
  

57 
  

56 
  



Fife 
  

77 
  

62 
  

66 
  

66 
  

57 
  

67 
  

78 
  



Forth Valley 
  

63 
  

70 
  

93 
  

112 
  

104 
  

112 
  

91 
  



Grampian 
  

57 
  

62 
  

81 
  

105 
  

117 
  

125 
  

111 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

59 
  

60 
  

49 
  

62 
  

55 
  

61 
  

61 
  



Highland 
  

63 
  

60 
  

66 
  

71 
  

48 
  

31 
  

48 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

79 
  

67 
  

43 
  

52 
  

56 
  

82 
  

92 
  



Lothian 
  

50 
  

51 
  

49 
  

64 
  

70 
  

69 
  

63 
  



Orkney 
  

39 
  

56 
  

32 
  

51 
  

45 
  

39 
  

38 
  



Shetland 
  

43 
  

28 
  

34 
  

54 
  

46 
  

50 
  

20 
  



Tayside 
  

67 
  

76 
  

84 
  

48 
  

26 
  

40 
  

43 
  



Western Isles 
  

91 
  

67 
  

91 
  

92 
  

41 
  

23 
  

27 
  



Scotland 
  

59 
  

56 
  

52 
  

61 
  

58 
  

65 
  

67 
  



  Sources: ISD Scotland, SMR00.

  Note:

  P Provisional.

Pensions

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which minister is responsible for the operation of the (a) Scottish Public Pensions Agency and (b) Police Pensions Regulations 1987; which minister can seek a referral, or re-referral, to a medical authority in respect of the regulations, in particular in respect of Part H; on what grounds such a referral, or re-referral, can be made to a (i) medical referee and (ii) police board, and whether any new regulations will amend these referral rights.

Tavish Scott: The operation of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency and the regulation of the Police Pensions Regulation1987 in Scotland form part of the Finance portfolio.

  Under Regulation H of the Police Pensions Regulations 1987, the Scottish ministers role is limited to the appointment of an independent medical referee in cases where the officer is appealing against the decision of the police authority.

  The decision to refer cases to a medical authority is solely for the police authority to determine. In a small number of cases involving an Inspector or Assistant Inspector of Constabulary, central police officers or some overseas policemen the Scottish ministers undertake the role of police authority.

  There are no planned amendments to these referral rights.

People with Disabilities

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to extend personal choice of care support to all aspects of care, following its news release SEhd426/2003 on 31 May 2003 about direct payments for people with disabilities.

Mr Tom McCabe: Local authorities now have a duty to offer direct payments to all eligible disabled people. This change gives people the opportunity to arrange and purchase their own community care or children's services, instead of receiving services arranged by their local authority. Direct payments can give disabled people more choice and control over the purchase of day care and home care services, respite breaks and housing support services as well as equipment and temporary adaptations.

  From 1 April 2004 we intend to extend the scope of direct payments beyond disabled people. This will make direct payments available to a range of people, including older people who need community care services because of frailty as well as people fleeing domestic abuse, people recovering from drug or alcohol problems, homeless people and children who require services because a parent is recovering from drug or alcohol problems.

Public Transport

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide additional financial support for local bus services in the Dumfries and Galloway Council area, with particular regard to services at peak commuting times.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive provides substantial financial support for the operation of subsidised local bus services through the local government Grant Aided Expenditure mechanism. This support makes available resources for local transport authorities to provide socially necessary services to fill perceived gaps in terms of route coverage and the provision of off-peak and rural services. There are currently no plans to increase this support.

Regulation of Care

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances a voluntary sector agency is obliged to register with the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care.

Mr Tom McCabe: Providers of all the services defined at sections 2 and 8 of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, including voluntary sector providers, will, through time, be required to register them with the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care. The commission has been regulating all the services regulated under the previous local authority and health board registration and inspection regime since 1 April 2002. Some services which were new to regulation have been regulated since October 2002, and others from April 2003. Regulation of the rest of the services defined in the act is being phased in.

Renewable Energy

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many planning applications for wind farms were (a) lodged and (b) approved in the (i) Moray, (ii) Aberdeenshire and (iii) Angus council area in each of the seven years up to and including 2002.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The registration and determination of planning applications for wind turbines is generally a matter for planning authorities. The detailed information requested is not held centrally but can be obtained from the councils concerned. The Scottish Executive intends to establish a database containing information about existing and planned renewable energy developments, including wind farms.

Scottish Water

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any proposal by Scottish Water to consolidate its customer call centres in Edinburgh would be consistent with the Executive’s policy to disperse public sector jobs from Edinburgh.

Ross Finnie: The Executive is committed to the dispersal objectives of the relocation policy. Location decisions have been taken by Scottish Water in the context of a much larger reorganisation of business functions across the whole of Scotland.

Scottish Water

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the implications are for the timescale within which repairs such as those required in Scotstoun, Glasgow, are carried out of action taken by Scottish Water to reduce its operating costs.

Ross Finnie: This is an operational matter for Scottish Water so I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. The Chief Executive’s response is as follows:

  The timescale for carrying out repairs at Scotstoun, Glasgow is not related to Scottish Water’s efforts to reduce operating costs. Complications associated with the planning of the remedial work resulted in an exceptional length of time being lost. Scottish Water does regret the delay and would like to give assurances that services to customers were not adversely disrupted.

Scottish Water

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost to Scottish Water is of the outpouring of water from broken pipes in Earl Street and Dumbarton Road in Scotstoun, Glasgow.

Ross Finnie: This is an operational matter for Scottish Water so I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. The Chief Executive’s response is as follows:

  Scottish Water keeps a record of overall leakage rates throughout Scotland, but it is difficult to isolate and accurately estimate the cost of the water lost from a specific instance of a broken pipe in a particular area.

Smoking

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact exposure to passive smoking has on the health of (a) children and (b) adults.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Report of The Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health published in 1998 (ISBN 0-11-322124-X) included evidence on exposure to passive smoking. The committee concluded that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in (a) children causes serious respiratory illness, asthmatic attacks, is likely to cause middle ear disease and is associated with sudden infant death: and in (b) adults causes lung cancer and ischaemic heart disease.

Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will arrange an inspection of Falkirk Council’s education department under the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000.

Peter Peacock: I have asked Graham Donaldson, Chief Executive of HM Inspectorate of Education to respond. His response is as follows:

  HM Inspectorate of Education is committed to inspecting the educational functions of all local authorities by June 2005 under the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000. The education functions of Falkirk Council will be included in this programme of inspections. The programme is not announced in advance and councils are given eight weeks notice before their inspection commences.

Teacher Training

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Physical Education Review Group is nearing completion of its report; when the review of the entry requirement to the PGCE in Physical Education is likely to begin, and how long the review will take.

Peter Peacock: The Physical Education Review Group met most recently on 23 and 30 April 2003, when they spent two days working on the recommendations for their report. The group will meet again in the near future to finalise these recommendations. The report is expected to be published in the autumn of 2003. The Memorandum on Entry Requirements to Courses of Teacher Education in Scotland  is reviewed and updated annually. The 2003 edition, outlining entry requirements for student intakes in autumn 2004, will be published shortly. Specific guidance, superseding that contained in the memorandum, can be issued to teacher education institutions if necessary.